Daoji Ancestral Land.
The Spectator Snow Sect’s Flame-fire Seal, released by Xu Qing, attracted over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators in just half a day.
Xu Qing was not entering the secret realm alone this time; she was accompanied by several junior sisters and brothers. As the Senior Disciple Sister of the Spectator Snow Sect, she had an obligation to look after them in the secret realm. However, as time slowly passed, Xu Qing found herself silently counting the names on the roster, realizing only one hundred and fifty-six cultivators had arrived.
Daoji Ancestral Land was not a large secret realm, nor was it particularly dangerous. The Flame-fire Seal she released had a visible range that covered almost the entire Daoji Ancestral Land, yet only one hundred and fifty-six people had arrived so far. The cultivators still on their way were likely few and far between; those who hadn’t arrived were probably already in trouble.
Xu Qing stood beneath a tree, closing her eyes and breathing. Her brow grew increasingly furrowed.
Her junior sisters and brothers were fortunately quite lucky, arriving as soon as the Flame-fire Seal was released. They were currently recording the names of these cultivators and demanding proof of their identities. After all, there was still the possibility that the cruel and ruthless evil cultivator might have quietly infiltrated the crowd.
Xu Qing met Mo Wanqiu at noon.
Xu Qing was the Saintess of the Spectator Snow Sect, while Mo Wanqiu was the Saintess of the Tingyu Sect. Both belonged to Aolai Continent, and their sects were close by, but their relationship was far from good. Xu Qing disliked Mo Wanqiu’s frivolous and alluring demeanor, and Mo Wanqiu’s reputation within her own sect was also poor, with rumors circulating that she had affairs with many male disciples.
Xu Qing and Mo Wanqiu had had minor disagreements over certain matters before, but with a major enemy at hand, they naturally couldn’t concern themselves with such things. Xu Qing rose to greet Mo Wanqiu and approached her, asking, “Did you see any corpses drained by the evil cultivator on your way here?”
“I saw a few,” Mo Wanqiu replied indifferently. It was then that Xu Qing noticed the man following behind Mo Wanqiu. No, to be more precise, it was a youth, no older than sixteen or seventeen, with a delicate appearance. But the moment their eyes met, Xu Qing felt a slight discomfort.
His gaze held a sort of… greed, which was hard to describe.
Over the years, due to her appearance, Xu Qing had encountered many such unpleasant gazes, and she had grown accustomed to them, not thinking much of it.
“Who is he?” Xu Qing asked softly.
“A minor rogue cultivator I encountered on the road, so I brought him along,” Mo Wanqiu replied plainly. The rogue cultivator immediately put on a smile and said, “Greetings, Immortal Sister. My name is Mo Dan, a rogue cultivator from Linglong Continent. I came to Daoji Ancestral Land seeking an opportunity to form a Core, but encountered the rampant evil cultivator. Fortunately, I met Sister Mo, who brought me along.”
Xu Qing nodded slightly.
She no longer paid attention to Mo Dan and looked back at Mo Wanqiu. “If we encounter danger… I hope to borrow your Thunder Cloud Cauldron.”
Mo Wanqiu smiled and nodded, “Of course.”
Xu Qing’s gaze returned to the crowd. The people gathered in this dense forest had become somewhat too mixed. Most of them were discussing the evil cultivator, but few showed signs of worry. After all, this secret realm restricted cultivators above the late stage of Foundation Establishment. With over a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered here, were they truly afraid of an evil cultivator who only ambushed in the shadows?
Xu Qing walked back to the tree and sat down cross-legged. As she closed her eyes, threads of spiritual qi flowed out from her side. She was constructing a barrier to protect everyone, even going so far as to take out over ten thousand spirit stones and lay them out before her. The moment these ten thousand spirit stones were revealed, many rogue cultivators’ eyes widened. Fortunately, her junior brothers and sisters immediately stood in front of her, acting as her protectors.
Mo Wanqiu sat down not far from her and chatted quietly with Mo Dan, while Mo Dan’s eyes were also fixed on Xu Qing under the tree.
Senior Sister Xu Qing of Spectator Snow Mountain was the dreamlike fairy for countless disciples in Aolai Continent, unmatched in both talent and appearance in Aolai Continent. Her current cultivation level was late stage Foundation Establishment. Most rogue cultivators in Aolai Continent were aware of this. However, because she also wished to form a Heavenly Dao Spirit Pill, she had suppressed her cultivation for a long time. But she had tempered her physique to an incredible degree. Not long ago, at the Spectator Snow Sect’s Grand Competition, she, at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, had defeated a fellow disciple who was in the middle stage of Nascent Soul.
Mo Dan had also heard of that rumor and was very happy about it.
In that case, she should not break even if played with for a long time.
***
Mo Dan’s age was as striking as his appearance; he was indeed seventeen this year. When he entered this secret realm, he did not hide or alter his appearance, as it was unnecessary for a group of dead people.
Mo Dan’s cultivation journey began at the age of six. He was also brought to a sect by an immortal and began cultivating from the Outer Sect. Unfortunately, his cultivation path was not smooth. Before the age of fourteen, he was just an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple. The sect he belonged to was not a major one, and its rules were not very strict. As a result, the disciples were not harmonious. He had endured countless oppressions in the Outer Sect and, due to his rebellious personality, had been beaten to the point of lying in bed for months, with no one coming to visit him.
But after the age of fourteen, he became exceptionally fortunate.
In the year he turned fourteen, he entered a secret realm and obtained an opportunity. The moment he obtained that opportunity, he saw all the memories of the previous Refined Yin Demon Gu in rapid succession. At that time, the frail Refined Yin Demon Gu was before him, so weak that even a three-year-old child could have crushed it.
Was it to destroy the Refined Yin Demon Gu, which could endanger the mortal world in the future, or to coexist with it, enjoy endless glory, easily reach the Ninth Realm, and become a supreme immortal? Even a fool would know how to choose.
Thus, he merged with the Refined Yin Demon Gu and, guided by the Gu spirit, left the sect. He found some of the inheritance left behind by the previous Refined Yin Demon Venerable, and in just three years, his cultivation reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
This late stage of Foundation Establishment was not because he could only reach this level, but because the Refined Yin Demon Gu had told him that for his future cultivation path to be smooth, he must lay a strong foundation. By blood sacrificing the bones and flesh of two hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators, he could forge a Chaos Blood Body, for which he had been planning for three full months.
As for Mo Wanqiu, she had been his target for a year. A year ago, he had quietly infiltrated the same secret realm as Mo Wanqiu and easily killed the Core Formation stage protectors around her. Even though Mo Wanqiu knelt and begged for mercy, pleaded bitterly, and even voluntarily undressed to please him, Mo Dan still planted the Ecstasy Gu in her.
The effect of the Ecstasy Gu was simple: when he activated the Gu worm, the victim would suffer as much pain as he desired. When the Gu poison acted up, Mo Wanqiu writhed on the ground, her screams like those of a demon trapped in the eighteenth level of hell. Her fingernails scratched at her porcelain-white skin, almost tearing her flesh apart, begging Mo Dan to kill her quickly. But Mo Dan merely laughed, sitting aside and watching her for a long, long time. Only when she was tortured to the point of losing consciousness did Mo Dan activate the other ability of the Ecstasy Gu.
Mo Wanqiu immediately felt as if she were ascending to the heavens, all pain seemingly vanishing in an instant. In just three hours… she willingly became Mo Dan’s dog.
This was the first time Mo Dan had used the Ecstasy Gu, and its terrifying effect made him almost deliriously excited. Who could have imagined that the Saintess of the noble Tingyu Sect would obediently crawl at his feet like a dog, shaking her delicate buttocks and allowing him to trample and humiliate her? Mo Dan’s suppressed desires for many years were almost unleashed on Mo Wanqiu for three days and three nights, and only when he grew tired of her did he finally kick her away.
His purpose in coming to Daoji Ancestral Land this time was twofold: first, to gather nutrients for his Chaos Blood Body, and second, to bring the Spectator Snow Mountain’s Xu Qing under his control as well. He had spent three full months refining another Ecstasy Gu but was now hesitant…
His hesitation was not out of fear, but because he recalled last night, through the vision of the red worm Gu, seeing a man and a woman. The woman’s face and figure were also top-notch, but there was only one Ecstasy Gu. Should he use it on Xu Qing, or on that woman?
If he planted the Ecstasy Gu, he could play for a very, very long time. But if he didn’t, playing for these seven days… he would have to kill her.
Mo Dan agonized over this for a long time. At this moment, his eyes subtly gazed at Xu Qing under the tree. Xu Qing, clad in a grey Daoist robe, could still hardly conceal her ethereal, immortal-like aura. Mo Dan sighed softly, deciding to choose Xu Qing… After all, she was the Saintess of Spectator Snow Mountain, and he might find her useful later.
Mo Dan joyfully looked at everyone around him. He was not in a hurry to act at this moment. Although killing these over a hundred people would not take long, there were still over thirty people who had not arrived. It would be too troublesome to go find them one by one later.
He truly loved Xu Qing. If it weren’t for him using the Spectator Snow Sect’s Flame-fire Seal, it would have taken him so much time to manipulate the Gu worms to kill them one by one, and there might even have been some who escaped. But Xu Qing had easily used her influence to gather everyone together.
Now, he only needed to wait for nightfall. When everyone had arrived in this dense forest, he only needed to make a slight move, and no one would escape.
Mo Dan’s eyes could not help but sweep across Xu Qing’s snow-white neck. He licked his lips lightly and bit his fingertip by his lips, slightly suppressing his impatient feelings.
***
When Jiang Huai arrived at the gathering place again, it was already noon.
He walked through the crowd and approached Xu Qing, who was drawing a spirit array. She was drawing a protective array, consuming nearly ten thousand spirit stones. Once activated, it could even block cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage. To most people, this seemed almost overkill, but they were all extremely grateful to Xu Qing, as the spirit stones were her own expense, and she didn’t ask for a single penny from anyone.
Xu Qing had only half-finished drawing the array when Jiang Huai sat down opposite her. She opened her eyes.
“It’s you.” A flicker of surprise appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes.
“Yes, what a coincidence,” Jiang Huai nodded slightly. It had been several years since they last saw each other. Xu Qing looked at him with a complex expression. “Are you here to compete with me for Heavenly Dao Spiritual Qi again?”
“Not this time. I’m accompanying my Dao Companion to find her Heavenly Dao Spiritual Qi. I’m crippled, have you heard?”
“I have heard.”
“The news travels so far?” Jiang Huai scratched his head. His spiritual qi was very weak, making it difficult to transmit messages with it. After a moment of hesitation, he leaned slightly closer to Xu Qing. “I have something I want to say to you.”
“Speak, I’m listening.”
“There are too many people here… it’s inconvenient. May I speak with you privately?”
Xu Qing hesitated for a moment before standing up and pointing to a stream in the distance. “Let’s go there.”
“Alright.”
